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Ja'loja
Ja'loja is the premiere episode of the second season of The Orville. The [[USS Orville|USS Orville]] heads towards Moclus for Bortus’ special once-a-year ceremony, and Ed discovers Kelly has moved on and has started dating. Meanwhile, Gordon asks for John’s help with his dating life, Alara goes on a blind date, and Claire deals with parenting troubles. Ja'loja was written and directed by creator Seth MacFarlane, and aired on December 30, 2018 a Sunday night. Music was composed by John Debney. The episode included special guest stars Jason Alexander as Olix and Will Sasso as Mooska, and Michaela McManus returned as the dark matter cartographer Janel Tyler. Plot Act 1 Several months have passed since Kelly Grayson broke up with Ed Mercer. He sits alone at the bar at night in the Mess Hall, drinking and lamenting his ennui, when he is joined by Alara Kitan and the two co-miserate about their failures in love and self-doubt. Second Officer Bortus approaches and formally requests redirection to his home world of Moclus for his yearly urination ritual. Act 2 In the Briefing Room, the Captain orders the senior staff to treat Bortus' ritual with dignity. Bortus explains the importance of the ceremony, ''ja'loja'', and invites them to attend with a significant other. Planetary Union Central grants clearance for the trip because Outpost 58 will be on the way, where the [[USS Orville|USS Orville]]'' was already scheduled to pick up their new dark matter cartographer Janel Tyler. Grayson finds Mercer in his office to inform him that she is dating again, but refuses to name the man. Kelly also refuses to confess whether she loves Ed, pointing out that his judgment is warped as long as she remains his First Officer. Tyler joins the Orville via shuttle, escorted to the Bridge by Kitan. While Tyler familiarizes herself with the navigational array, Helmsman Gordon Malloy awkwardly flirts with her. Isaac teaches Ty Finn piano. Marcus Finn asks his mom, Claire, if he and James Duncan can go to the Environmental Simulator. When Claire says that he can go after dinner if his homework is done, James whispers loudly, "Dude, is your mom always such a pain in the ass?," causing Claire to dismiss James. Marcus leaves and Claire complains that she cannot understand why her teenage boy seemingly hates her. Act 3 James, Marcus, and a third boy hack the Food Synthesizer of a vacant unit to synthesize a bottle of vodka and scurry to the simulator room. Meanwhile, Malloy wants to invite the new dark matter cartographer as his date to Bortus's ja'loja. He first presses Kitan for information on Tyler but she demurs. He asks Navigator John LaMarr for advice on approaching women. Cassius, a school teacher on the Orville, teaches class. Both James and Marcus give snide answers to Cassius's questions. Cassius tells Grayson that he is concerned that James is a bad influence on Marcus. That night, Mercer fawns over old photos of he and Grayson on a picnic, then he takes a shuttle from the Shuttle Bay. Bortus sets Kitan up on a blind date with a subordinate officer, and Kitan is curious to meet him. Production published this photo to his Instagram showing the set of Captain Ed Mercer's office for the episode.]]Scripts were released on February 5, 2018.Thaide, Ivy. Instagram. Feb. 5, 2018. Online at https://www.instagram.com/p/Be0dyLyn1Bk/ A table read of the episode occurred on February 23, 2018.Snapchat videos by jleefilms. Compiled by /u/arrowsofshield. "The first table read of season 2 is today!" Reddit.com. Feb. 23, 2018. Filming began February 26 at 8 a.m.Thaide, Ivy. "Here we go! Season 2 Day 1 of our first Ep. May the costume Gods be ever in our favor #firstday #hollywood #theorville #costumedept #syfy". Instagram. Feb. 26, 2018. with the working title of "TBD."Cassar, Jon. "Here we go #TheOrville season 2 starts shooting. Stay tuned." Instagram. Feb. 26, 2018. On March 19, editor and associate producer Tom Costantino confirmed the episode was in post-production."The Orville Fan Podcast w/ Tom Costantino, Scott Powell, Bart Rachmil & Hillary Wills". Planetary Union Network. March 19, 2018. Writing After having been off the air for over a year, MacFarlane wanted to write a premiere episode that would "reacquaint" audiences with the crew. "We’ve been off the air for a little while, and hopefully by the end viewers will feel like show never left."Keveney, Bill. "Seth MacFarlane offers mix of old and new on return of ‘The Orville’". ''Chicago Sun-Times. Dec. 27, 2018. He decided to write a premiere that would feature "character pieces"Topel, Fred. "SETH MACFARLANE ADDRESSES CRITICS’ HARSH TAKE ON THE ORVILLE STORY LINE". Rotten Tomatoes. in place of space exploration or, as Ed says, "a Krill invasion." Development of the opening scene A fragment of a production script published on February 15, 2018 showed that the opening scene of the episode originally had Kanoot, and not Olix, as the bartender, and an unused alien species called "Florites." Person 1 (Ed Mercer?): . . . Florites have to play all these ''depre''ssing songs? Maybe something'' . . . lit''tle more upbeat? KANOOT: . . . ''i''f I could talk to him . . . Florites have a special'' . . . langu''age that is ''unclear ''. . . to translate. ED: . . .@maxhair706. "And so we begin Season 2 #THEORVILLE". Instagram. Feb. 15, 2018. This scene was revised. On February 22, actor J. Lee (John LaMarr) published a partially-obscured updated version of the first page of the script that showed significant revisions. ANGLE ON a 1940s-era phonograph, which plays "As Time Goes By". FAR to find ED, sitting alone at the bar. KANOOT gives him a drink. ED: How long have you had that thing? KANOOT: Had the computer replicate it last week. I'm trying to warm this place up a little, y'know? Get a nice vibe goin'. ED: The late . . . jazz. Depressing . . . at-the- . . . same time. I can help you there. KANOOT serves . . .: Here you go. . . . ED: Y'know what the worst days are, . . . the days when you can't . . . Just watch. ALARA appears or something like this. ALARA: Mind if I join you? ED: Have a seat. I can see . . .''Snapchat videos of @jleefilms compiled by /u/arrosofshield. "The First Table Read of Season 2 is today!" Reddit.com. Feb. 22, 2018. Script transcribed by /u/u_suck_paterson. Development of the office and shuttle scenes at the navigator's station.]] A February 26 leak by Ivy Thaide of the wardrobe department revealed another page of the script.Thaide, Ivy. "Here we go! Season 2 Day 1 of our first Ep. May the costume Gods be ever in our favor #firstday #hollywood #theorville #costumedept #syfy". Instagram. Feb. 26, 2018. They exit Ed's office. INT. ORVILLE - ED'S OFFICE Ed sits at his desk, unclear . . . unclear: we see a few iunclear . . . picnic, inexorably while th. . . fun, looking very happy. INT. ORVILLE - SHUTTLE BAY - . . . Ed enters, stands about awkwardly . . . approaches one of the LIEUTENANTS oduty. ED: ''Hey, Lieutenant, I'm gonna... ''unclear''p. LIEUTENANT (beat; confused): Okay, sir. ED: I'll be back in a little bit. LIEUTENANT: Do you want me to assign a pilot? ED: Oh no, I'm just going to... go for a drive.''Transcription by /u/xeow. "Page from the Season 2, Ep 1 script has been posted. Can we read it?" Reddit. Feb. 27, 2018. Cast changes Thaide's image also showed several characters planned for this early stage, including Mooska, Woman, Xelayan Woman, and Nathan, but also two who were removed, including Kanoot and someone named Gabbino.Thaide, Ivy. "Here we go! Season 2 Day 1 of our first Ep. May the costume Gods be ever in our favor #firstday #hollywood #theorville #costumedept #syfy". Instagram. Feb. 26, 2018. Preparing to air The first direct reference to the episode came on March 18, 2018, when actor Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy), said the premiere would concern "love" and "relationships on board [the [[USS Orville|USS ''Orville]]]."Topel, Fred. "SETH MACFARLANE ADDRESSES CRITICS’ HARSH TAKE ON THE ORVILLE STORY LINE". Rotten Tomatoes. March 18, 2018. A day later at PaleyFest, Grimes added that he was excited to have an upcoming episode that takes place entirely on the Orville; Seth MacFarlane added that the episode was an ensemble of "character pieces" without a science-fiction plot; and actress Adrianne Palicki (Kelly Grayson) said the premiere would take place several months after the conclusion of ''Mad Idolatry''. Grimes elaborated: We literally did an episode that was kind of all inclusive to the ship.... If you’re on a ship of 300 people, and it’s allowed to have relationships — obviously, Bortus and Klyden have a relationship right there — so of course stuff is going to happen, more so with some characters than the other characters. After PaleyFest, the cast and crew spoke did not speak of the episode. Shortly before airing, executive producer David A. Goodman promised only that Ed and Kelly will "pick up" where Mad Idolatry left off, "and we take it, I think, in a really interesting direction. We get to see and Seth really do some interesting, fun, compelling work as actors."Bennett, Tara. "The Joy of Seth". SFX Magazine. Jan. 2019. Pg. 42-43. (However, article published online Dec. 4, 2018.) Actors Kai Wener (Ty Finn) and BJ Tanner (Marcus Finn) live-tweeted during the premiere, answering fan questions and posting behind-the-scenes photos.@KaiWener. "Hey @EgotasticFT @planetary_union @The_Orville_Fan @trekkerprise tell ur #theorville fans that @BJTannerTv and I will be live tweeting & posting some bts pics tonight during the season 2 premiere of @TheOrville We will be answering questions too! Just use the hashtag #FinnFamily". Twitter. Dec. 30, 2018. Reception Viewership Critical response Trivia * The 29th century time-traveler Pria Lavesque taught the Orville how to map dark matter in ''Pria''. The knowledgew was adapted by the Planetary Union and formalized into dark matter cartography. References * A song played throughout the episode is the 1931 classic "As Time Goes By," written by Herman Hupfield and made popular through the film Casablanca. ** The choice of "As Time Goes By" is particularly interesting as the song is a staple in MacFarlane's work, having recorded the song and used it in an episode of his earlier show Family Guy."Seth MacFarlane - As time goes by". Youtube. Published Feb. 8, 2011. Last accessed Feb. 23, 2018. * The episode bears similarities with "Amok Time" from Star Trek: The Original Series (also the second season premiere) in which Spock must return to his home world of Vulcan for pon farr, the rare act of procreation. Mistakes Cast published this promotional still just hours before the episode premiere.]]Names and titles are as they appear in the credits unless otherwise noted. Main Cast * Seth MacFarlane as Cpt. Ed Mercer * Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson * Penny Johnson Jerald as Doctor Claire Finn * Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy * J. Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr * Halston Sage as Lt. Alara Kitan * Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus * Mark Jackson as Isaac Special Guest Star * Jason Alexander as Olix * Will Sasso as Mooska Recurring Cast * Mike Henry as Dann * Chad L. Coleman as Klyden * Chris Johnson as Cassius * Kai Wener as Ty Finn * BJ Tanner as Marcus Finn * Blesson Yates as Topa * Rachael MacFarlane as Computer Uncredited Recurring Cast * Michaela McManus as Lt. Janel Tyler * Norm Macdonald as Yaphit Guest Cast * Jake Brennan as James Duncan * Adam J. Smith as Nathan Duncan * Kristen O'Meara as Jody Duncan * Luke Clark as Kid #1 * Alicia Leigh Willis as Woman * Francesca Catalano as Xelayan Woman * Melvin Diggs as Shuttle Bay Lieutenant Uncredited * Christian Telesmar as ND Officer Notes References 001 201